Tackling Online Activity During The Super Bowl: Mobile Is A Game Changer

Email address:

Connect with Author

A digital industry veteran and a founder of SourceKnowledge. Patrick started his career driving strategy and product development for one of the internet’s earliest search engines. His focus is now on building innovative video ad serving technology. A keen industry blogger, and presenter, Patrick is a staunch evangelist for up-and-coming technologies, and the progressive work his team is doing in defining the future of video advertising.

Patrick Hopf, President and Co-Founder, SourceKnowledge analyzes the data from Super Bowl ad events and highlights how the mobile use is on the rise which can be a big opportunity for the digital advertisers

In the advertising world, the Super Bowl is the center stage for the biggest brands to showcase their best TV ads that demand millions of dollars for mere seconds of airtime - $5 million per 30 second spot. Super Bowl ads have long been the place for brands to battle out the most hilarious, sad, cute and creative ads that their marketing departments and agencies can imagine. While all eyes are on the TV for the big game, the rise of mobile and its application as a second screen has changed our collective viewing habits. Our team at SourceKnowledge viewed 97% of online activity, analyzing more than 4 billion data points from the 2016 and 2015 SuperBowls to see how the event impacts our browsing behavior.

Traffic Patterns: Mobile Gaining Momentum

Since the NFL brings so much entertainment during this short timespan with add-ons to the actual game, such as the halftime show, it is extremely difficult to grab a consumer’s attention if it is not on the screen - which explains the high cost in TV ad space. This phenomenon also explains the decrease in overall traffic volumes across all devices, interest categories and websites by 4% between 2015 and 2016. However, as we dug deeper into the data, we saw that while overall traffic decreased, mobile traffic actually increased by 18% from 2015 to 2016, showing mobile as a big opportunity for digital advertisers.

Data showed that web traffic compared to previous weeks, dips during the big game (between 6pm and 10pm), decreasing 28% in 2015 and 20% in 2016. Nevertheless, in 2015 mobile traffic only decreased by 3% during these hours while desktop traffic dipped by more than 36%. That trend was similar in 2016: mobile traffic actually increased by 1% during these hours, while desktop traffic dropped 42%. This is remarkable as it highlights that while desktop attention and television viewership are often mutually exclusive, mobile is a complementary channel.

Directly following the Super Bowl, during the hours of 10 pm to midnight, online traffic increased compared to previous weeks by 9% in 2015 and 15% in 2016. Mobile was responsible for the majority of the increase in traffic for 2015 and 2016. One of the insights gathered within this data set showed that users are watching the Super Bowl simultaneously on their mobile device. The second screen presents an opportunity for advertisers to effectively engage with their targeted audience during the Super Bowl, without emptying their wallets. This is particularly interesting as the personal nature of mobile devices allows for greater addressability and impact compared to television or desktop ads.

Increased Cost & Competition

Advertisers are beginning to understand the trend in the digital ad space during the Super Bowl, leaving the competition to become fiercer as the years progress. Competition increased from 2015 to 2016 as CPMs across all devices and interest categories increased by 23%. Our team found that competition also increased based on averages from two weeks prior to the game - by 18% in 2015 and by 35% in 2016 - and numbers are expected to be greater as the years move on. Although, of course, media costs are substantially less than a TV ad during the Super Bowl.

Consumer Behaviour: Major Boost In Shopping

In 2015 and 2016, users were nearly as likely to click on ads with a 1% increase in CTR year-over-year. While online traffic was most concentrated within news and sports verticals for much of the day leading up to the game, shopping based websites saw a major boost in traffic during the hours following the game (10pm to midnight) with a 6% increase compared to the rest of the day in 2015 and an 11% increase in 2016.

Key Takeaway

Mobile has changed the way that we use the internet during major television events and it is up to the advertisers to understand their actions in order to keep prospective customers engaged. As advertisers are attempting to stay up to date with mobile, this migration has created a diversity in how brands can reach their target audience. For many brands it may make more sense to make a push toward digital with highly personal targeted ads rather than go big with a single broad TV placement.